US to UK sound studio requirements

[slishyfish]

Hello,
Can I simply use a UK power cord with my D8b or must I plug it in to a transformer ? My MacPro automatically deals with the different voltage because it ships that way. But I'm not sure if just a UK power cord will work with the Mackie.
Any help would be lovely. Thank you

[Phil.c]

Mine was bought new in the UK so the power was set to 240v, if yours was shipped from the USA you need a 110v transformer. Many years ago I bought an HDR fron USA, I forgot about the voltage and had to have a new power supply fitted as it blew and not the fuse!

Phil

[Y-my-R]

I think I saw your question on the d8b Facebook page, but someone already gave the answer that I figured should be the correct one, so I did not respond.

The Power Supply in the d8b is made up of a couple of components, but the main one, and that's also where the power cable is plugged in, is a standard "computer" power supply (ATX, I believe). These can usually be set to the local voltage, by changing the voltage selector on it before plugging it in.

I just looked at the back of mine, and as someone on Facebook pointed out, there's a small metal cover where that switch is located - just above where the power cable is plugged in.

If you remove that cover, you should find a voltage selector underneath, that should allow you to set it to the 230 or 240 Volts in Europe.

I "hope" that they didn't cover it up, because there are other components in the extended power supply in the d8b, and simply switching the "main" computer power supply may not do the trick after all. If that's the case, then it might be risky to just switch this one, and you might end up blowing out other components in the power supply (or the rest of the mixer).

Long story short - you should be able to find that voltage selector for the main "computer" PSU under that cover above the power cable connector - but I can't tell for sure if it's safe to just switch that over, or if there's something else at play with this.

For what it's worth, when I moved from Europe to the US 18 years ago, I was using a 1000 Watt Transformer with the cheap Behringer MX8000 I had brought with me. Worked fine (but I later realized that it was possible to convert the power supply for that one internally). The transformer was like $80... and I still use it as a footrest when playing guitar - nice and sturdy, hahaha...

[Phil.c]

Some HDR's have a small red slot by the side of the power plug, some don't, I 'm not sure if this is a voltage switch, it might be the same with CPU's?

Phil

[Y-my-R]

I'm so happy that I kept a "service trench" behind my racks, so I can just peek behind that stuff easily whenever I need to change connections, or look something like this up

I have both, the older and newer d8b versions, and they both had the cover and the selector (one was black, one red).

I also looked at my HDR - there's a sticker over the selector that I didn't want to remove, but you can feel that there's a gap underneath, where the selector usually is.

On my MDR, the selector is 'exposed' right next to the power cable connector.

So, looks like they should all have it, but it might be covered up with a sticker or metal cover (single screw to remove).

But once again - I'm not sure if it's safe to simply switch this on the d8b. The HDR/MDR should probably be OK to switch over, since there aren't any extra power supply components in them, other than a standard computer power supply (at least not that I'm aware of... I didn't see anything that looked like it was an added power supply component).

So, my bet would be - fine to switch over HDR/MDR units. Unclear if it's safe to switch over d8b units, but they DO have a hidden (covered up) switch.

[slishyfish]

Thank you Mackie family--most appreciated information. I had actually found the metal plate on the rear of the unit, unscrewed, found the hidden treasure and made the switch to 230. Working on several units of US gear for many days, we felt comfortable enough to power up with appropriate UK lead but as we did, a most horrendous noise erupted. I've had a bad fan before, this was more intense, louder, as if motors were struggling and very unhappy. The monitor did however show the typical power up cycle as I let it go for about 20 seconds before shutting down. Feeling like we should not try that again, (as I don't have access to service where I am) I ordered a 1000watt transformer from Airlink here in the UK. Arriving Friday, I'll attempt to power up the old fashioned way at 110 through the transformer. It appears the unit was meant to be able to just switch, but that remains unknown at this point. (Service trenches are valuable real estate!). It is notable, that when I powered the D8B up at 110 through another transformer 3 times, (not enough capacity for continued use over time) it was quite happy so it appears no parts were damaged during the Atlantic voyage transit. And for that I'm grateful.